The View is an American talk show that was conceived by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters and television producer Bill Geddie. It has aired on ABC as part of the network's daytime programming block since August 11, 1997. The show broadcasts live from the ABC Broadcast Center in New York City, featuring a multi-generational panel of women as co-hosts, who discuss the day's "Hot Topics" ranging from sociopolitical to entertainment news. While the show primarily spotlights conversations between its panelists, it also regularly features interview segments with prominent figures, such as celebrities and politicians.

Since its inception, The View has won 30 Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host. The show has also received positive reviews from The New York Times, Slate, Entertainment Weekly, New York Post, and HuffPost. Beginning in 2007, the show became subject to on-air controversies and media criticism due to frequent changes in its panel of co-hosts, subsequently causing a decline in ratings. In 2014, the show was transferred from the helm of the entertainment division to that of ABC News, which led to a viewership growth and warmer critical response. In 2017, the show became the only broadcast daytime program to see a rise in its overall audience from the previous season.

Format

The original opening credits for the show featured voice-over from broadcast journalist as well as the show's creator and executive producer Barbara Walters explaining the show's premise as well as its co-hosts' credentials:

“

I've always wanted to do a show with women of different generations, backgrounds, and views: a working mother (broadcast journalist Meredith Vieira); a professional in her 30s (lawyer Star Jones); a young woman just starting out (newcomer Debbie Matenopoulos); and then somebody who's done almost everything and will say almost anything (comedian Joy Behar). And in a perfect world, I'd get to join the group whenever I wanted…[2]

”

Walters described the show as "a talk show featuring four or five women 'of different backgrounds, different generations, and different opinions,' who would discuss the topics of the day, mixing humor with intelligent debate."[3] The show begins with a segment where the panel engages in a discussion pertaining to subjects ranging from politics to social issues as well as pop culture, commonly referred to as "Hot Topics."[4][5] Every episode features multiple "Hot Topics" segments, which take up to most–if not all–of the day's show.[6][7] The discussions are frequently followed by an interview with a guest, often a celebrity promoting a project.[3][8] The show also periodically conducts audience giveaways.[9] Every show is ended by one of the co-hosts, primarily the moderator, delivering the closing remarks, "Have a great day, everyone, and take a little time to enjoy the view."[10][11]

Production

During its first 17 seasons, The View was filmed at 320 West 66th Street in ABC Television Studio 23 in New York City.[18] The original set for the first four seasons was a leftover set from a cancelled soap opera The City.[19][20] As a co-executive producer of the show, Walters plays a part in the casting of the co-hosts.[5] Longtime executive producer and co-creator Bill Geddie was the lone recurring male persona, sometimes shown as stepping out from behind the camera to interact with the panel.[21] The co-hosts wear IFB earpieces through which producers communicate with them.[22][23]

The View's eighteenth season brought significant on-air and behind-the-scenes changes in what was regarded as a "reinvention" of the show.[24] In August 2014, ABC announced that Geddie was departing the show and that he was to be replaced by Bill Wolff, who had served as vice president of primetime programming and as executive producer of The Rachel Maddow Show at MSNBC.[25][26] Production of the show relocated to the ABC Broadcast Center at 77 West 66th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.[27][28] During the season premiere on September 15, 2014, the show unveiled its new studio featuring a coffee table-style desk with low-arm chairs, a large video wall, in-the-round audience seating, and an on-camera social media station.[29][30] Tweaks in subsequent weeks have included a glass desk and high stools at center stage,[31] as well as color adjustments in backgrounds and graphics.[32][33]

On October 30, 2014, ABC announced that responsibilities for production oversight on The View would shift from ABC's daytime entertainment division to Lincoln Square Productions, an ABC News subsidiary, where the show will be grouped under the division's non-fiction programming umbrella.[34][35] The move allowed the show to leverage ABC News' resources toward news-related segments.[36][37] In August 2015, it was reported that former Late Show with David Letterman producer Brian Teta would be joining the show as co-executive producer.[38] Later in the month, executive producer Wolff was announced to be departing the show.[39] During season 19, the show introduced an aftershow entitled After the View, which was available through live streaming.[40] In February 2016, along with the show's twentieth season renewal, Candi Carter was promoted to executive producer after serving as interim showrunner for season 19, becoming the first African-American executive producer in the show's history.[41][42]

During the twentieth-season premiere on September 6, 2016, the show debuted an updated set design with muted colors,[43][44] retooled opening titles with footage of the co-hosts in a loft-like space,[45] as well as a new theme song entitled "World's Gone Crazy", written by Diane Warren and performed by Mary J. Blige.[46]Hilary Estey McLoughlin was named senior executive producer in January 2017 after she was brought on as a consultant for season 19.[47] In September, the show promoted Teta to executive producer ahead of its 21st-season premiere.[48]

On April 6, 2006, Vieira announced that she was leaving the show to become co-anchor of the long-running NBC News program Today, replacing Katie Couric.[56] Her final episode aired on June 9.[57] On June 27, 2006, Jones announced her departure from the show on air, stating that she would remain on the show through July. Despite this, Walters announced the following day that Jones would no longer appear on the show with the exception of previously recorded segments, publicly claiming feeling "betrayed" by Jones for unexpectedly making the announcement two days ahead of schedule.[58] In an interview with People, Jones claimed the decision to leave was not hers and that producers informed her that they would not be renewing her contract in April.[59] Walters later stated that ABC executives had decided not to renew Jones' contract due to diminished approval for Jones through their market research.[60]

During the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards on April 28, 2006, it was announced that former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell would be joining the show for its tenth season.[61] O'Donnell made her debut as the new co-host and moderator of the show on September 5.[62] On April 25, 2007, O'Donnell announced she would be leaving the show when her contract expires due to the network not being able to come to terms on a new contract.[63] On May 25, ABC announced that O'Donnell had asked to be let out of her contract three weeks before its expiration and that she had been granted permission to depart immediately.[64]

Seasons 11–18

On August 1, 2007, Walters announced that actress Whoopi Goldberg would be replacing O'Donnell as moderator for season 11.[65][66][67] Actress Sherri Shepherd appeared as a permanent co-host beginning September 10, 2007, marking the first time in the show's history that it featured two African-American co-hosts.[68][69] Rotating guest co-hosts filled in for Hasselbeck while she was on maternity leave from October 2007 to January 2008 and again from August to October 2009.[70] On August 30, 2009, Goldberg, Behar, Shepherd, Hasselbeck, and Walters won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host.[71][72] Following the show on May 10, 2010, Barbara Walters took a hiatus from the show for heart surgery.[73] The season 14 premiere marked Walters's return.[74] On March 7, 2013, it was announced that Behar would be leaving the show at the end of season 16.[75][76][77] The next day, reports surfaced that Hasselbeck was to leave the show at the end of the season due to market research showing that both her and Behar's views were too polarizing to viewers,[78][79] which Walters denied.[80] Despite this, Hasselbeck announced on the July 10 episode that she was leaving The View to join Fox & Friends and that it was her last day on the show.[81] Behar's final show, a This is Your Life-style tribute to her, aired on August 9.[82][83]

On July 15, 2013, Walters announced that television personality Jenny McCarthy would become a permanent co-host.[84][85] McCarthy made her debut as co-host on September 9 on the premiere episode of season 17.[86] On May 13, Walters confirmed on air that she would be retiring as a co-host of the show and from ABC News in May 2014, but would continue as an executive producer of the series for as long as it airs.[87][88][89] Walters' final episode aired on May 16, 2014, with all former co-hosts and several guests returning for a special broadcast.[90] On June 26, it was confirmed that Shepherd and McCarthy would not be returning to the show following the conclusion of season 17, leaving Goldberg the sole remaining panelist to return for season 18.[91]

O'Donnell's return to the show as a permanent co-host was announced on July 10, 2014.[92] In September, it was announced that Rosie Perez, an actress and choreographer, and Nicolle Wallace, an MSNBC political analyst and former Bush White House communications chief, have been hired as permanent co-hosts for its eighteenth season after having made guest appearances in season 17.[93][94] On February 6, 2015, representatives for O'Donnell confirmed that she would once again exit the panel, citing her reasons as a "personal decision." Her final appearance aired on February 12.[95] On June 10, recurring guest panelist and actress Raven-Symoné joined the series as a permanent co-host.[96] On July 7, it was announced that Perez would exit the series following the completion of its eighteenth season in order to fully pursue acting.[97] The following day, it was confirmed that frequent guest co-host and comedian Michelle Collins would join the series as a permanent co-host for the season 19.[98] On July 15, it was announced that Wallace was being let go at the conclusion of season 18.[99]

Seasons 19–present

On August 25, 2015, it was announced that original co-host Behar was going to be returning as a permanent co-host, while actress Candace Cameron Bure and Good Morning America Weekend anchor Paula Faris would be joining Behar, Goldberg, Raven-Symoné, and Collins on the panel for season 19.[100] It marked the first time in the series' history that it had six permanent co-hosts as well as the first time The View had a full panel of at least five co-hosts in over two years.[101] In addition, television personality Padma Lakshmi, stylist Stacy London, political commentator Ana Navarro, model Molly Sims, and Shepherd joined the show as contributors.[102] On June 16, 2016, it was officially announced that Collins had been let go, effective immediately.[103]

In July, Goldberg and Behar were reported to remain on the panel through the show's twentieth season.[104] On August 3, it was announced that Faris, Bure, and Raven-Symoné would be returning and that ABC News correspondent Sara Haines would be joining the show for season 20.[105] Despite previously announced as frequent contributors, ABC News Senior Legal Correspondent Sunny Hostin and former Fox News contributor Jedediah Bila also joined the show as permanent co-hosts.[106] With a panel comprising Goldberg, Behar, Raven-Symoné, Bure, Faris, Haines, Hostin, and Bila, The View marked its first time of having eight rotating co-hosts since its debut.[107] Additionally, Behar began moderating on Fridays in Goldberg's place.[108] On October 27, Raven-Symoné stated on air that she would be exiting the show at the end of the year to focus on the That's So Raven spin-off series Raven's Home.[109][110] On December 8, Bure announced that she was leaving the program, specifying that the commute between coasts while juggling her other television obligations was difficult on her and her family.[111][112][113] Her last episode as a co-host aired the following day.[114]

Despite initially stating that she was considering leaving the show after season 20, Goldberg was reported to be staying on as moderator for season 21.[106][115] Behar, Faris, Haines, Bila, and Hostin all returned as co-hosts.[48] On September 18, 2017, Bila announced on air that she was exiting the show, effective immediately. In April 2018, Bila announced on a radio talk show that she did not leave the show voluntarily, but that she was fired.[116][117] Political commentator Meghan McCain was subsequently reported to be joining the show permanently after leaving her position at Fox News.[118] McCain made her debut as co-host on the October 9 episode.[119][120] In 2018, a number of guest co-hosts including Navarro and actress Yvette Nicole Brown filled in for Haines while she was on maternity leave.[121][122] Haines returned to the show on March 12, 2018.[123]

Notable episodes

In 2010, President Barack Obama appeared as a guest on the show on the July 29 episode, marking the first appearance on a daytime talk show by a sitting U.S. president.[124] The episode also saw the return of Barbara Walters following her open heart surgery in May before she resumed her hiatus.[125] The broadcast drew a total of 6.6 million viewers, a new high for the program.[126] On September 23, the show aired its 3,000th episode and celebrated the show's history.[127]

On February 22, 2012, former co-host Star Jones came on the show as a guest and discussed her contentious exit from the show, marking her first appearance since her departure in 2006.[128] On February 7, 2014, Rosie O'Donnell returned to the show as a guest for the first time since she quit the show in 2007.[129] On May 15, all eleven co-hosts of the show's history appeared to celebrate Walters' retirement.[130][131] On March 27, 2015, the show celebrated its 4,000th episode. Former co-hosts Walters and Joy Behar returned to the show for the celebration.[1]

On September 5, 2016, prior to the premiere of season 20, ABC aired a documentary entitled The View: 20 Years in the Making, which featured notable moments from the show and several personalities involved in the show's history, hosted by Behar.[132] On November 8, Behar, Jedediah Bila, Candace Cameron Bure, Sara Haines, and Sunny Hostin hosted a primetime Election Night special of the show, which aired on Lifetime.[133] On November 11, a "Flashback Friday" episode was aired along with a Veteran's Day tribute, featuring the return of original co-hosts Jones, Meredith Vieira, and Debbie Matenopoulos, alongside Behar. Walters was unavailable to attend the reunion.[134]

Controversies

On May 17, 2007, during a discussion regarding the Iraq War as well as the Bush administration's policies, O'Donnell rhetorically asked, "655,000 Iraqi civilians dead. Who are the terrorists? …[I]f you were in Iraq and another country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?"[141] On May 23, 2007, a confrontation ensued between her and Elisabeth Hasselbeck due to what O'Donnell perceived as Hasselbeck's lack of willingness to defend O'Donnell's right to disagree with the invasion of Iraq and the resulting military occupation.[142] O'Donnell also stated that the media would portray her as "big, fat, lesbian, loud Rosie attacking innocent, pure, Christian Elisabeth" and that Republicanpundits were mischaracterizing her statements. Hasselbeck responded by telling O'Donnell to "defend her own insinuations."[143] O'Donnell exited the show the following day, later stating that she knew that it was time to leave the show once she saw the split screen image of her and Hasselbeck on either side. She felt that the producers of the show were setting her up to be confrontational with Hasselbeck.[144]

On February 18, 2018, during a discussion about Omarosa's comments in regards to Vice President Mike Pence's religiosity, Behar remarked: "It's one thing to talk to Jesus, it's another thing when Jesus talks to you. That's called mental illness, if I'm not correct, hearing voices."[151] While Behar clarified later in the show that she did not think Pence was mentally ill, her earlier remarks sparked criticism as well as a response from Pence himself, who accused the show of expressing "religious intolerance."[152][153] Content analysis organization Media Research Center subsequently launched a campaign demanding an apology from Behar and urging viewers to do so, resulting in 40,000 calls to ABC as well as 6,000 complaints to the show's advertisers.[154]The Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger later stated that Behar has directly apologized to Pence.[155] On March 13, Behar issued an apology on air, stating: "I think Vice President Pence is right; I was raised to respect everyone’s religious faith, and I fell short of that. I sincerely apologize for what I said."[156]

Reception

U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his wife Deborah on The View on November 24, 2010.

Critical response

A New York Times review, published ten days after the show premiered, describes what critic Caryn James thought was distinctive about the show:

“

The idea of women talking to one another on daytime television is not exactly radical. The idea that those women should be smart and accomplished is still odd enough to make The View seem wildly different. It actively defies the bubbleheads-'R'-us approach to women's talk shows.[49]

”

In 2002, Virginia Heffernan of Slate complimented the chemistry between Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar, and Barbara Walters, writing that the women "have eased completely into the stock sensibility of middle-aged talk shows, embracing the imperatives that one be healthy, careful, temperate, charitable, and moderately cutesy while at the same time skeptical, ribald, and world-weary."[52] In 2007, Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly gave the show acclaim, praising it as "doing for daytime television what the Daily Show has done for primetime in that it offers viewers a show that deals in genuine opinion and not mere fluff."[157]

During her first run on the show, while regarded as outspoken,[158][159] Rosie O'Donnell was criticized for not acting as a moderator oftentimes during discussions, during which she would interject her–often liberal–viewpoints.[160] Due to this, O'Donnell faced backlash from conservative media outlets.[161] However, as a big-name talent, she was credited for keeping the show's "buzz factor" up.[162] Conversely, Michael Schulman of the New Yorker praised O'Donnell's time on the show, further elaborating that "on a show that aspired to bring together women of all types, O’Donnell pushed the limits of what cheery daytime chatter could sustain, and The View became more heated and more interesting as a result."[7]

The appointment of Jenny McCarthy as a co-host attracted backlash, largely due to her anti-vaccination views.[163][164][165] David Freeman, senior science editor for The Huffington Post, wrote about the concerns of Bill Nye, who stated: "I believe Ms. McCarthy's views will be discredited."[166]Alex Pareene of Salon criticized the decision, writing, "Anti-vaccine conspiracist and View co-host Jenny McCarthy isn't just quirky—she spreads lies that hurt people."[167] Writing for The Guardian, Jill Filipovic remarked, "Other than what her anti-vax views imply, it's unclear whether she's intellectually checked-in or not. And that's part of the problem: outside of anti-vaccine activism, McCarthy has no record of political activism or even serious engagement with the world."[168]Michael Specter of the New Yorker asserted that ABC executives "should be ashamed of themselves for offering McCarthy a regular platform on which she can peddle denialism and fear to the parents of young children who may have legitimate questions about vaccine safety," and that McCarthy's hiring was a "strike against reason and progress and hope."[169]

Following Walters' retirement, the show faced criticism for constant changes in its lineup of co-hosts, namely the one-season stints of McCarthy, O'Donnell, Rosie Perez, Nicolle Wallace, and Michelle Collins, respectively.[170][171][172] In July 2015, Daniel D'Addario of Time suggested that it was time for ABC to end The View, citing the show's inability to maintain a consistent panel as a factor.[173] In 2016, Lisa de Moraes of Deadline Hollywood wrote: "The View’s revolving door has been spinning so dizzily on the show the past few seasons, that panelists these days do a lot of disagreement prefacing with 'You know I love you, but….' as a pre-emptive measure for inevitable 'They Couldn’t Stand Each Other' press reports whenever a panelist exits."[174] Regarding the changes, television personality Julie Chen stated, "I mean, I should know all of the names of the hosts and I don’t ‘cause it changes so often."[175]

In 2017, the New York Post attributed the show's resurgence in viewership to its political discussions.[176] David Hinckey of HuffPost opined that the show has been successful in consistently implementing its original premise and that in regards to its co-hosts, it has "sought to maintain a balance in areas like ethnicity and ideology. While most of the panelists over the years have tilted a bit to the left, there has always been a voice from the right that’s unafraid to speak up."[177]

U.S. television ratings

In November 2008, the show's post-election day telecast garnered the biggest audience in the show's history at 6.2 million in total viewers, becoming the week's most-watched program in daytime television.[178] It was surpassed on July 29, 2010, during which former President Barack Obama first appeared as a guest on The View, which garnered a total of 6.6 million viewers.[179] In 2013, the show was reported to be averaging 3.1 million daily viewers, which outpaced rival talk show The Talk.[180][181]

In 2014, the May 16 farewell to Barbara Walters garnered 5.2 million total viewers, ranking as the show's fourth most-watched broadcast.[182] In September 2014, the season 18 premiere, which marked the return of Rosie O'Donnell, drew the show's second largest season premiere audience to date of 3.902 million viewers.[183][184] In January 2015, it was reported that the show's viewership was down nine percent among its target demographic of women 25–54.[185]

In August 2017, it was reported that season 20 of the series averaged 2.816 million total viewers per episode, marking its most-watched season in three years while also becoming the only broadcast daytime show to grow its overall audience from the previous season.[186] During the first week in November, the show averaged 2.94 million viewers, the fourth week in a row with year-to-year gains.[187] In January 2018, The View saw another rise in viewership, as it was reported to be averaging 3.273 million daily viewers, giving the show its largest lead since the 2012–2013 season.[188]